I’ve just got home from Leftwing Idiot’s after watching a film with him and Poppy. We were all tired and my tics were making me move erratically and contort all over the place. Because of this, Leftwing Idiot offered to walk me home. He asked me twice but I said I thought I’d manage, and I didn’t want to drag him out into the cold.

It became immediately apparent that I couldn’t manage on my own. As soon as I’d said goodbye and shut the door I lost my footing and fell, making a funny noise as I bounced down the stairs.

I was more shocked than hurt but the fall knocked all the breath out of me, which meant there were a few moments of complete silence. Then I heard the door open and Leftwing Idiot came out. I told him what had happened and he came down.

As we walked back to the lair together, he said, “I knew there was a problem because you went quiet, and that’s always more worrying than when you shout in pain.”